Category Archives: Resources

How long will paper continue to be the right tool for planning and ideation? How long will it take someone to figure out how to replicate paper’s utility in the digital space? An interesting development in the paper world of innovation/collaboration is the synthesis of Post-it Notes with digital technologies.

FAST COMPANY published an interesting article on the rebirth of the post-it note titled, HOW THE POST-IT NOTE COULD BECOME THE LATEST INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY. The article by David Lavenda explores the uses of post-it notes in the creative processes and during collaboration. The whole article is well worth a read but what stood out for me was the reference to an integrated digital and paper solution – in essence marrying the humble post-it with technology to deliver a powerful tool for innovation and communication. Many applications exist but the collaboration between 3M and Evernote, explored in the article, seems user focussed and versatile. You can photograph post-its and the application translates the content into searchable and editable text. The post-it note seems to be going stronger than ever, and the future is bright.

Is your school or workplace divided into “creatives” versus practical people? Yet surely, David Kelley suggests, creativity is not the domain of only a chosen few. Telling stories from his legendary design career and his own life, he offers ways to build the confidence to create… (From The Design Studio session at TED2012, guest-curated by Chee Pearlman and David Rockwell.)

Written by Jon Kolko from AC4D this book is available to read for free online or can by purchased. Inspirational, with a clear focus and easy to read style. As described by the authors:

This book was started with the intent of changing design and social entrepreneurship education. As these disciplines converge, it becomes evident that existing pedagogy doesn’t support either students or practicioners attempting to design for impact. This text is a reaction to that convergence, and will ideally be used by various students, educators, and practitioners…

I simply can not thank the fabulous people at FROG and Service Design Network enough for developing and publicising this great toolkit. I love using this in the education studio to empower students to be able to create and facilitate.

Part of frog’s commitment to social impact, CAT is a set of activities and methods to enable groups of people anywhere to organize, collaborate, and create solutions for problems impacting their community.

Again a great resource from the amazing people at the Ted Blog. I remember the original TED Talk and being mesmerised by all the fantastic websites out there – the knowledge, experiences and media at my fingertips. The updated version has not lost any of its magic.

In the spring of 2007, Julius Wiedemann, editor in charge at Taschen GmbH, gave a legendary TED University talk: an ultra-fast-moving ride through the “100 websites you should know and use.” Six years later, it remains one of the most viewed TED blog posts ever. Time for an update? We think so. Below, the 2013 edition of the 100 websites to put on your radar and in your browser.

To see the original list, click here. While most of these sites are still going strong and remain wonderful resources, we’ve crossed out any that are no longer functioning. And because there are so many amazing resources out there, please add your own ideas in the comments. Happy surfing!

It may be early in the year, but I’m almost sure this is one of the most amazing tools I will find in 2014. AC4D Design Library claims that it is a ‘Practical resource to support the process of design’ – and they are not exaggerating! The tools are clear, well designed (I always find it amusing when design tools are badly designed…), using clear language and broken into strategic sections. I can’t wait to give every single one of these a go! Thank you Austin Centre for Design.

The lovely people at Frog have compiled a great Tech Trends for 2014 in which you can vote for which entries you believe are likely to feature. This is one of many forecast and trend documents popping up online this time of the year. I love it!! Paging through the various forcasts makes me so excited, imagining that the world of early 20th Century sci-fi authors will finally come true (….in truth may may just get more of the same, with slight changes and incremental developments). I suggest giving yourself over to dreaming about where we can go in 2014….even if it is just for a few minutes!

Tools, glorious tools. With access to so many apps I fear the day that I can tweet my kettle into making toast (…that may already be possible….). The rate of technological development and the number of apps out there may be a little overwhelming, but they do offer us incredible opportunities. A post by Whitson Gordon of Lifehacker offers a brief exploration of apps available to us which are really worth a look.

Some apps do one thing, and they do it well. Others have a host of clever, hidden uses that you might have never thought of on your own. Here are our favorite clever uses for popular apps.

I sometimes think our world has become to big. We are surrounded by millions of objects and messages, all screaming for our attention, to be used or to be purchased. I’m a packaging junkie. It isn’t a wonderful thing to admit but if a design spends enough time on the packaging of an object – tasteful colours, appropriate imagery, decently kerned copy and, of course, some textured element – there is a very good chance that I will buy that product. I realised that what draws me to great packaging is the detail and visual story telling. Someone sat and made directed and contextually relevant decisions to create something beautiful with a devastatingly low survival rate (let’s face it, how many of us keep packaging). The human consideration in packaging, as with product and services, is something that makes me feel connected to the process of production. At the same time it reminds me of how wasteful our world is. The need to feel connected is becoming shockingly more difficult in our world. Books, like great packaging, make me incredibly happy. When I read a great book about designers or design I feel connected to their process and views. Great authors help one make sense of the world by offering alternative views, personal interpretation and case based evidence. There are so many amazing books out there on the topics of design and design for development that I often feel sad, as I know I will never be able to fully explore them all. So, in order to simplify things a bit I offer you my top 5 book to read in the new year. Some new, some old, some about philosophy, some about practice but all iconic. They tell the story of creative innovation and design, the need to be connected and the need to really see the world around us…

1. Thoughts on Designby Paul Rand (1947). This book, published over 50 years ago, captures the philosophy and views of the icon designer Paul Rand. I fell in love with Rand’s Swiss Style of typography. The book explores his views on functionality and aesthetic, and documents his views on design which can clearly be seen in his later designs such as the IBM logo.

2. Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change by Victor Papanek (first published in 1971). Today this book is on the compulsory reading list for my Industrial Design students, and many more I am sure. They usually end up discussing how such a powerful piece of work is still relevant today, even more so maybe. With the provocative start of the book stating: “There are professions more harmful than industrial design, but only a few”, the book strips away the covers of consumerism and irresponsible production to reveal Papanek’s views on a more sustainable future. Revolutionary then, necessary now and key to our future.

3. The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman (first published 1988). In this book Norman explores the functional requirements of products and adds a new dimension to J.J. Gibson‘s term affordances. He also explored the term ‘user centred design’ and the importance of putting users at the very centre of the design and conceptualisation process.

4. No Logo by Naomi Klein (first published 1999). This book will change the way you look at your world. I find it hard to believe that it has been than 15 years since this book was published. Klein takes a hard look at the second economic depression (which we have all felt in some way since the publication of the book). The power of capitalism and the ultimate cost is explored. The 2010 special publication is also amazing and well with the read.

5. The Language of Thingsby Deyan Sudjic (2009). Sudjic, the director of the Design Museum in London, explores our world and the human desire to fill their world with objects. He reflects on a world ‘drawing in objects’. Witty, humorous and sometimes personal Sudjic exploration of this topic is unmissable.